Biofuels Impact on Crop and Food Prices
Biofuels Impact on Crop and Food Prices

Author: Scott L. Baier

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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This paper examines the effect that biofuels production has had on commodity and global food prices. The innovative contribution of this paper is the interactive spreadsheet that allows the reader to choose the assumptions behind the estimates. By allowing the reader to choose the country, time period, supply and demand elasticities, and the size of indirect effects we explicitly illustrate the sensitivity of the estimated effect of biofuels production on prices. Our best estimates suggest that the increase in biofuels production over the past two years has had a sizeable impact on corn, sugar, barley and soybean prices, but a much smaller impact on global food prices. Over the past two years (ending June 2008), we estimate that the increase in worldwide biofuels production pushed up corn, soybean and sugar prices by 27, 21 and 12 percentage points respectively. The countries that account for most of the upward pressure on these prices are the United States and Brazil. Our best estimates suggest that the increase in U.S. biofuels production (ethanol and biodiesel) pushed up corn prices by more than 22 percentage points and soybean prices (soybeans and soybean oil) by more than 15 percentage points, while the increase in EU biofuels production pushed corn and soybean prices up around 3 percentage points. Brazil's increase in sugar-based ethanol production accounts for the entire rise in the price of sugar. Although biofuels had a noticeable impact on individual crop prices, they had a much smaller impact on global food prices. Our best estimate suggests that the increase in worldwide biofuels production over the past two years accounts for just over 12 percent of the rise in the IMF's food price index. The increase in U.S. biofuels production accounts for roughly 60 percent of this effect, while Brazil accounts for 14 percent and the EU accounts for 15 percent. The key take-away point is that nearly 90 percent of the rise in global food prices comes from factors other than biofuels.

Biofuels Impact on Crop and Food Prices
Biofuels Impact on Crop and Food Prices

Author: Scott Leonard Baier

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 40

ISBN-13:

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"This paper examines the effect that biofuels production has had on commodity and global food prices. The innovative contribution of this paper is the interactive spreadsheet that allows the reader to choose the assumptions behind the estimates. By allowing the reader to choose the country, time period, supply and demand elasticities, and the size of indirect effects we explicitly illustrate the sensitivity of the estimated effect of biofuels production on prices. Our best estimates suggest that the increase in biofuels production over the past two years has had a sizeable impact on corn, sugar, barley and soybean prices, but a much smaller impact on global food prices"-- P. 1.

The State of Food and Agriculture 2008
The State of Food and Agriculture 2008

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 9789251059807

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The State of Food and Agriculture 2008 explores the implications of the rapid recent growth in production of biofuels based on agricultural commodities -- Back cover.

Biofuel Crops
Biofuel Crops

Author: Bharat P. Singh

Publisher: CABI

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 537

ISBN-13: 1845938852

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Providing comprehensive coverage on biofuel crop production and the technological, environmental and resource issues associated with a sustainable biofuel industry, this book is ideal for researchers and industry personnel. Beginning with an introduction to biofuels and the challenges they face, the book then includes detailed coverage on crops of current importance or with high future prospects, including sections on algae, sugar crops and grass, oil and forestry species. The chapters focus on the genetics, breeding, cultivation, harvesting and handling of each crop.

The Economics of Biofuel Policies
The Economics of Biofuel Policies

Author: Harry de Gorter

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-04-09

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 1137414855

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The global food crises of 2008 and 2010 and the increased price volatility revolve around biofuels policies and their interaction with each other, farm policies and between countries. While a certain degree of research has been conducted on biofuel efficacy and logistics, there is currently no book on the market devoted to the economics of biofuel policies. The Economics of Biofuel Policies focuses on the role of biofuel policies in creating turmoil in the world grains and oilseed markets since 2006. This new volume is the first to put together theory and empirical evidence of how biofuel policies created a link between crop (food grains and oilseeds) and biofuel (ethanol and biodiesel) prices. This combined with biofuel policies role in affecting the link between biofuels and energy (gasoline, diesel and crude oil) prices will form the basis to show how alternative US, EU, and Brazilian biofuel policies have immense impacts on the level and volatility of food grain and oilseed prices.

Biofuels and Food Security
Biofuels and Food Security

Author: Tatsuji Koizumi

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-05-03

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 331905645X

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Examining the relationship between biofuels and food security, this book presents an economic analysis of the competition between biofuels and food. It covers the historical and current situation of biofuels and food security in Brazil, China, Japan, USA, EU, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and other countries. Furthermore it demonstrates that not only feedstock of agricultural product-based biofuels, but also cellulose-based biofuels can compete with food-related demand and agricultural resources. The issue of whether this competition is good or bad for food security is explored, and this topic is examined at global, national, sub-national and household levels. In order to deal with energy security, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to strengthen agricultural/rural development, biofuel production and utilization is increasing all over the world. One of the most crucial problems is the competition for resources between biofuel and food. This biofuel and food security discussion is expected to continue into the future, and this book proposes the action that is needed to deal with this issue on various levels. Biofuel and Food Security provides a valuable resource to undergraduates and researchers of economics, agricultural economics and renewable science, and also policy makers involved in government or international organizations. It will additionally be of interest to those employed in renewable energy and agriculture in an industrial capacity.

Biofuels, Food Security, and Developing Economies
Biofuels, Food Security, and Developing Economies

Author: Nazia Mintz-Habib

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-01-08

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 1317914112

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The last decade has witnessed major crises in both food and energy security across the world. One response to the challenges of climate change and energy supply has been the development of crops to be used for biofuels. But, as this book shows, this can divert agricultural land from food production to energy crops, thus affecting food security, particularly in less developed countries. The author analyses the extent to which biofuels feedstocks fit within the national food security strategy, agro-export orientation, and rural development plans and policies of developing economies. Two case studies, from Tanzania in East Africa and Borneo in Malaysia, are considered in detail, using the non-edible crop of jatropha as an example of how compromises can be reached to balance food and energy goals as well as export markets. The author develops a novel integrated approach, the Institutional Feasibility Study, as the basis of her analysis. She addresses key issues such as: how do global initiatives for green growth, energy security and sustainable development incorporate biofuels industry development? Does global biofuels trade present meaningful foreign and local investment opportunities for developing countries? To what extent does biofuels feedstock production help with poverty reduction and agricultural sector modernization? What role do the EU and the US commitments to biofuels blending targets play in the rapid industry development in developing countries? How does the biofuels industry fit within existing formal and informal institutional frameworks? Who are the winners and losers in the biofuels global value chain?

Handbook of Bioenergy Economics and Policy
Handbook of Bioenergy Economics and Policy

Author: Madhu Khanna

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2009-12-02

Total Pages: 435

ISBN-13: 1441903690

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Concerns about energy security, uncertainty about oil prices, declining oil reserves, and global climate change are fueling a shift towards bioenergy as a renewable alternative to fossil fuels. Public policies and private investments around the globe are aiming to increase local capacity to produce biofuels. A key constraint to the expansion of biofuel production is the limited amount of land available to meet the needs for fuel, feed, and food in the coming decades. Large-scale biofuel production raises concerns about food versus fuel tradeoffs, about demands for natural resources such as water, and about potential impacts on environmental quality. The book is organized into five parts. The introductory part provides a context for the emerging economic and policy challenges related to bioenergy and the motivations for biofuels as an energy source. The second part of the handbook includes chapters that examine the implications of expanded production of first generation biofuels for the allocation of land between food and fuel and for food/feed prices and trade in biofuels as well as the potential for technology improvements to mitigate the food vs. fuel competition for land. Chapters in the third part examine the infrastructural and logistical challenges posed by large scale biofuel production and the factors that will influence the location of biorefineries and the mix of feedstocks they use. The fourth part includes chapters that examine the environmental implications of biofuels, their implications for the design of policies and the unintended environmental consequences of existing biofuel policies. The final part presents economic analysis of the market, social welfare, and distributional effects of biofuel policies.

Biofuels
Biofuels

Author: Dwight Tomes

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2010-11-16

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 1441971459

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This comprehensive volume developed under the guidance of guest editors Prakash Lakshmanan and David Songstad features broad coverage of the topic of biofuels and its significance to the economy and to agriculture. These chapters were first published by In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology In Vitro Plant in 2009 and consists of 15 chapters from experts who are recognized both for their scientific accomplishments and global perspective in their assigned topics.